Retribution
by Jhalamae
Summary: After Itachi's death, two people overtook his obsession completely. From a quest of power to a quest of vengeance, he finds himself back in Konoha much in a manner he hadn't planned. Given a choice between suspension of ninja privileges and lifetime supervision, or a month probationary period before execution, he finds himself torn between revenge and a pair of sad, blue eyes. Yaoi
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was warm. It seared his algid skin, spreading through the concentration of nerves like a plague. The slick heat drooled down his hand, mingling with the small hairs and dotting the pores. It delved into the creases of his knuckles and tickled the sensitive flesh between his fingers. It dribbled to the tips of his tensed digits, pooling into his cuticles and trickling onto dry, desirous earth.

It was crushing. A steady beat pulsed rhythmically around his wrist, it compressed the tendons and forced his fingers to curl in sync. Strong muscles spasmed violently, squeezing with a phenomenal pressure that cut off the circulation and stabbed his flesh with millions of needles.

It was nauseating. A cloy stench hung in the air around him. The familiar odor stained his nostrils and whirred in his brain. It was filling his lungs with every short, desperate breath, slithering a decadent metal onto his tongue.

The chakra dissipated from his hand and the thousand birds stopped chirping. He was gasping and sniffling in deranged spurts. His features convulsed wildly around gritted teeth. The sound that formed came from the depths of his diaphragm, bulging his temples, tensing his eye sockets, and tearing his throat in a pained, gravelly squall, "GAAAAAHH!"

Sasuke's gut quivered with adrenaline and disgust. The wound regurgitated in squirts, sewing red textures into his thirsty, white cotton shirt. It splattered rubies onto his pale complexion, collecting, melding, tracing the curved square jaw, the pillar of his throat, and the sheen of his chest. The syllables he croaked out were mindless and laced with turmoil, anger, desperation, "Naruto! You fucking idiot... Why? Why?" Something stung in his eyes and his vision started to blur. He pounded at the blond's chest with every word, "Why! Why! Why!"

The blonde braced the arm in his chest and caught the fist pounding at him. The tan boy turned the strained, shaking fist toward the inside, rendering the arm useless and arching that crimson and pearl contrasted upper half toward his own sparkling and half-lidded cerulean gaze. Sasuke couldn't stop staring at his forearm, watching like he could see through the chest to the numbing hand he kept clenching. He was delirious, lathed in disbelief. Orange and red swirled together on his skin in a revolting ballet of sweat and blood while his stomach dared him to accept the image in front of his eyes.

"Sasuke..."

Two fingers raised to lightly trace the line of the clenched jaw, then brushed a loose strand of black hair behind his ear. The bloodied blonde cupped his face, pressing a thumb on the underside of his chin to meet his stare. The raven wouldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't see those eyes with the taste of his blood slinking over his own taste buds. He encased his own onyx so tight that his head trembled and a impending migraine crushed his skull.

"Sasuke..."

Lips pecked the grinding teeth of his whimpering mouth, his eyes shot open. He froze in a gasp, pouting and quivering. His body went limp. He started to hear everything again, the chirping of a nearby bird, the chatter of the squirrels, the rustle of the leaves.

It came again, delectable peaches ghosting his lips. They were so shy. A dam of serotonin broke in his synapses and tears scaled the expressive, snowy plain of his face. His haze began to fade out. His lips tightened into a hard line, breaths forcing between them, spurting and spitting as the sobbing shook him. He tried to turn his head away and deny it all but a soft yet coercive touch kept it still. He was sickened by this, sickened by himself, wanted to retch out his innards for the guilt that chilled his body dragged his heart to his feet, snapping what strings had ever held them there. It was disgusting, he couldn't tell the difference between blood, snot, saliva, sweat.

It was relentless, supple lips pressing on his, intensified by a calloused hand that knitted its way through the spiky tangles of his sweat slicked hair. A hand released his arm and traced his cheek, his jaw, the tendon bulging out of his neck. Whatever this desperate, emotional manifestation was he didn't deserve it. It was so timid, so gentle, just... Too much.

The next claimed him. He had him. The sensuousness thumped madly through his veins. He sucked and nipped at the lips that raped his face, whimpering, consuming them, begging them for forgiveness. His tongue ventured frantically in the other's mouth, curling against the taste buds, wiggling around pearly teeth, searching desperately for salvation. He could still feel wetness tickle the small hairs on the curves of his cheek, flood and warm the previous trails. He couldn't fathom what made them pour from his eyes but it didn't stop. It was as if his body was releasing ages of pooled saline, compensating for every ardent involvement he had ever denied himself.

They separated with a gasp for air. Flesh trembled vehemently around his wrist as the blonde coughed blood onto his chest. They fell to their knees. He was dragged by the arm lodged in the other's abdominals. A hand braced itself on his shirt. A pile of golden, tossled hair was deadweight on his shoulder, breathing raspy and slowly. He lowered his head slowly, awkwardly on tan shoulders. _What am I doing? It's supposed to hurt. __It's too late to doubt myself. It's too late to wonder if it's worth the power... These tears... _He wiped under an eye. _I never imagined..._

When the sapphires finally found the onyx they brought a smile, and a look of mirthful condolence spread over a sun-kissed face. Those eyes, they pitied, and a finger poked the dots of blood littering his pallid features, trying to smear them away. Like they blemished his appearance, like he was apologizing for bleeding on him. They mused, and a thumb ran over his eyelids to soften the ebony stare. Like even still the dobe was proud that he could get so much out of him. They forgave, and lips pursed to graze his florid cheek. Like he was trying to convince him it was okay, like he didn't mind, like a goodbye. Those eyes, they were beautiful... Until they closed.

He starred at the sky with a joyless smile, arm dangling in defeat. He mumbled protests, cursed himself, spoke Naruto's name. He continued, even after a hand wrapped around his throat and put a sharp pain under his rib. Even after the warm breath was stolen from the nape of his neck. Even after the hot, sanguine convulsions were pulled from his wrist. Even after blunt force ricocheted his face in the dirt and everything blurred into darkness...

_Naruto... Forgive me..._

Author Note

Disclaimer: I don't own, nor claim to own Naruto

This is the first thing I've uploaded and I plan to make it a long series of chapters. It is placed before Pein attacked the village. Any feedback is appreciated! :D It really matters to me what kind of effect, if any, my chapters have on my readers. Please let me know how it flows and if it is powerful. Do you like how it started?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- It's All Uphill from Here

Blonde wisps of hair shuddered excitedly in their silken spree, surrendering to the howling gales and reminiscing wildly with blades of grass. A vicious chill swept through the streets of Konoha. The tempest challenged each building and structure, weaving to disperse over the prefaces of the back woods and relish in the freedom; frolicking with his whiskers. The leaves danced, flittering like butterfly wings in a ballet of cyclones. The clouds swelled and sunk, blotting dismal greys in the azure oceans gazing. They dominated the cowardice of the sun, cloaking the village with a darkness. Single drops of rain fell for him, melting at his tanned canvas, kissing his slightly parted lips. His eyes were soft, fixed on the indentations and the shades of the looming atmosphere. His brows were golden, furrowed, saturnine datums that reveled in the frigid tingles rising deeply from within. Frenzies and figures blurred into nothingness around him. He lifted an arm staggeringly and slowly, making a gesture to grasp the clouds and see something beyond the malevolent sky. It began to downpour.

* * *

"Their mission is complete." Two leaf headbands kneeled before her. The room was filled an aching tension, silence choking the throats of the shinobi. Rain pitter-pattered on the rooftops, streaming down the windows panes. Hastily they weaved, splitting into veins and littering a shimmering trails of beads.

A jewel gleamed with the flashes of lightning. Her eyes were wide, glued to the paperwork on the desk. Her pencil immobilized, hands trembling. She closed her mouth and she swallowed the ache in her throat. Her back straightened, her endowed bust lifting, her eyes squeezing tightly, trying to dismiss the nervousness. Thunder murmured a foreboding growl. She brushed the golden locks from her face and began, feigning nobility into her composure. "Any injuries?"

The left one answered, "Only Naruto. He is in critical condition."

The right noticed the change in her composure, "He is being tended to as we speak."

A sigh gasped and the her wide, oceanic eyes wavered. Her brows met and sloped, a light crease between them. The sparkles in her irises trembled in face of the memory. Strained and heavy they started to drown, the oceans bleeding and beading atop her lower lashes. Fine ink strewed across the scattered documents on the desk and melded into a puddle of black blotches in her sight. Houses creaked and groaned eerily, loathing the challenge of the storm. An anemometer whirred on the rooftop, shutters clattered nearby.

The trance was broken as a bejeweled piglet oinked, "...Lady Tsunade, there is a matter to be dealt with." The sound felt as if it regretted leaving her lips.

She swallowed hard and exhaled. Mobility returned with reality. Her hand unwound slowly, complacently placed back on the tabletop. Her eyes had grown soft, and knowing. Her lips pouted and quivered. She closed her eyes acceptingly, a single tear betraying her and defiling the contours of her cheek. With another audible breath she acknowledged her in a voice firm and clear, "I know."

She spoke to the messengers. "The target was captured? Alive?"

Unanimous, "Yes, Lady Fifth."

The words were emotionless. "Thank you, you may go."

They looked at each other before nodding, bowing, and finding the door. The humble black haired woman nodded beside her in understanding and empathy. Stumbling hurriedly behind them she spoke, "I'll set up a meeting with the village council." She stole another glance at the distraught lump of the fifth leader before exiting the room with a _click_.

The symphony of the night played, transitioning into a melodious allegro. Droplets barraged the window panes, clanging on the roof, sloshing through the gutters, shifting and synchronizing sheets of rain with merciless gales. Lightning would heighten the piece to energico. Thunder boomed half notes that surged throughout the room, flickering the lights. Midnight sung and the Hokages cried.

The door clicked closed again, her head shot up and she braced herself. Instantly, she gasped and clenched her stomach. His green flak vest was covered in blood like a macabre holiday. Merry Christmas the taste of her dinner again.

He winced at the gaging sounds. "I'm sorry, I let myself in."

"Hatake?! Whose blood...?"

"Never mind that, I need to speak with you." He unzipped his vest and slipped it onto the floor revealing a royal blue that expanded tightly along the rippled plain of his torso. He kicked the vest to the side of the room.

She glared at him and wiped her mouth. Her infamous spite ignited in her, "Speak, then! Or forever hold your _rank_!"

She was taken aback as he bowed. "Forgive me, Malady. I have some information for you."

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

His determination softened, "You've been crying..."

She flushed in embarrassment and brought a sleeve to her face. She adverted her gaze, "Talk."

"Ah..." He cleared his throat. "It has been confirmed that Sasuke has been affiliating with the Akatsuki. He was conversing with a man wearing one of their robes and an orange mask before Naruto made his grand entrance."

She looked at him again, this time appalled. "Akatsuki? Why?"

"I'm not sure..." He continued, "I'm sure you have heard the rumors of him killing Orochimaru, but he no longer has the curse mark. The only justu I know that could separate souls is..."

She cut him off, "What about Naruto?"

"Oh... Um." He blushed a little. "He succeeded."

Her eyes narrowed. "His condition?"

He was silent for a minute. "He is unconscious. He took a chidori through the chest." An eye quirked as she slipped her chair back and stood slowly.

"Where is Uchiha now?"

"In the iris. Yamato is suppressing his chakra as it regenerates. He won't be going anywhere."

She walked with purpose toward the door with purpose.

An eyebrow ascended. "Malady?"

"Thank you, I think I know enough."

His gaze followed as she walked past him. "He was holding back. Otherwise the chidori would have obliterated him." Satisfied when she stood still, he continued. "When he left, he was after his brother. If he achieved his goal and found that power, Naruto would be no match for him. That is undeniable. Besides, I don't think you would be looking out for everyone's best interest if you made any rash decisions."

She scoffed and flung open the door. "I don't care about the council."

"And the council doesn't care about you, but that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then who? Naruto?" She looked at him directly. "Because I'm doing a damn better job than you did! If you had stepped in, things never would have gotten out of hand. You have the sharingan just as he does, together you would have matched him!"

"But it wouldn't have brought him home. He didn't need another reason to look for more power. Why do you think he left in the first place?"

Her voice grew darker. "He didn't need to be back at all. He just didn't need to be a threat. Abandoning the village and affiliating with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki will bring him the same fate. And what makes you think he didn't come back for the same reasons?"

"He couldn't find that power here before."

She crossed her arms and scrunched her nose. "Power in Konoha is plentiful, he just took the easiest route."

An earnest look filled with pain and concern lathered his feature. "I was his Sensei before he left this village. Just as much as the rest of his team, I wanted him to come back and find an honest path. I watched that shadow form within him, and I did nothing. I thought that just by being surrounded by his friends that he would find something that was stronger than his bond to revenge, something more than a ninja way of hate. I think that now, maybe, he is looking for that too. He immersed himself and wrapped his entire life around a goal of vengeance." His voice lowered as he noticed the intensity of her stare. "What's left for him now that he's accomplished it?"

Her eyes were commiserating, and her lips parted slightly.  
She turned away from him and starred down the empty hallway. Lightning flashed through the windows, flickering illuminated silhouettes on the parallel wall. Thunder grumbled lowly, sending shivers through the metal of the building. The wind ululated in long, unearthly breaths within the village breeze ways, igniting a storm within their own chests. "I won't kill him."

He chuckled, and it resonated through the hallway, bounced off the walls, and loosened her fists. "I never thought you would. You couldn't kill a fly without getting squeamish."

She turned, kindled with spunk, and placed her hands on her hips. "Then what was the point of a heartfelt speech?"

"Someone with a voice needs to speak for Naruto. Someone needs to see everything through before what he has done thus far and everything he has sacrificed becomes for naught. Sasuke was his first bond, even though it was through jealousy and rivalry. He is what drove Naruto to better himself, what kept him from hating everything that hated him, and what helped him find the power to protect everything he loves. That is why he clings to him, why he fought so hard to preserve the tie. He needs him close, he needs that push." He stepped forward. "This is going to be a long and grueling battle against the council and village," He poked her forehead, "and he's going to need granny's support."

She grabbed the finger and twisted it. She took a fistful of his shirt and looked him in the eye, "Where is your spite?! For everything he has done? For all the pain he has caused in the hearts of the people close to you?"

He let her express herself, taking the pain. "I think I took enough of my anger out on him. The blood on my shirt isn't just Naruto's." The words must have frozen the tip of his tongue.

She put her fist to her mouth and crunched forward as she suppressed a gag.

"Besides, the side he chose isn't entirely his fault. He is a child, he is still pliable."

She sighed took her hands off him. She paced back and forth before turning to him again. "So that I'm clear, you want me to put my neck out for a traitor?" He gaped his mouth suddenly but she stopped him, "For Naruto's sake?"

"Well..." He scratched the back of his head and his eye curved into a wrinkled crescent moon. "Yes."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- The Jesters of the Square Table

Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own Naruto

"You're late." A wrinkly shrew tapped her foot impatiently, a man was standing beside her with his arms crossed.

She nodded to the both of them. "Eh, you expect anything less?"

"Koharu, Homura. A pleasure." He gave a lazy wave and a happy eye. He didn't look at the other. "Danzo."

The old, bandaged man spoke lucidly, "I mean no disrespect to your authority, Lady Tsunade, but we are here to make a decision for the betterment of the village. Not to indulge on the personal bias of his previous Sensei."

She met eyes with his confidently, speaking against the elder's whispers, "He is very informed. Being his previous Sensei, no one is a better judge of his character and his change in character. He also had knowledge of his curse mark and Orochimaru's previous affiliation with the boy. He performed the Fuuja Houin Evil Sealing Technique before the Chunnin exams. Furthermore, he was the only other witness of Sasuke's capture besides Naruto. He has very valuable insight and every right to be here."

He grimaced. "Well, no sense in drawing this out." Danzo nodded to the masked man. With a unanimous bow they took their seats. "Let the meeting begin."

* * *

She slumped her shoulders and leaned her head back, closing her eyes tightly as an onslaught of beads crashed into her face and squirmed down her figure. The warmth burned the red and swollen hands she had scrubbed raw. Her chin and her bottom lip curled up, quivering. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes were closed so tightly that they were twitching. Her cheeks were compressed downward into a frown, and her slim chest was shaking with her sporadic breaths. That was it. Nothing came out anymore. She stood there in the wet blanket of darkness, listening to water until it ran cold.

She didn't look at anyone. None of them mattered. She watched her feet drag along the ground in apathetic scuffs. Her shoulders slumped and her arms dangled in front of her from more than the lab set and the first aid kit she held in her hands. The sight of him that way would never leave her. She would never forget the number of stitches she had put in him. She would always remember the way red swirled into the water as she cleaned the blood off of him. Things could have been so much different.

She had imagined it over and over again, the thought of them together. She dreamed that she could be beside him, that she could be an equal. She fantasized that for once she might be the reason for the smile on his face. She wondered what it might feel like if he embraced her. She pondered his manically esoteric madness, and if he might confide in her those secrets. If he trusted her. If he loved her.

The end of the story was that she was just a child to him. He was right when he said she didn't understand him, and she probably never would. It still wouldn't have stopped her from showing him everything there was to be had out of a life without revenge. They could have opened his eyes to the spoils behind these walls. She could have taught him love and compassion, Kakashi could have taught him honor and pride, Naruto could have taught him passion and dedication, and the village could have given him family...

It didn't matter. The world ran past her while she bruised the memories in her hands. They were in their own league now. Mindlessly, she had put the entire burden on Naruto's shoulders. What had happened was her fault, and even when the truth was right in her face she still wanted to hold Sasuke, to curl him up to her chest, run her fingers through his hair, and tell him she was still on his side. To tell him that she still loved him, if he would take her. She felt guilty. She felt selfish.

The shriveling pink soul wiped her face and made her way up through the building to the office of the Hokage. The door was closed, wispy murmurings coming from behind. There were no ANBU guarding either. She looked both ways down the hallway repeatedly before she put down the kits and pressed an ear to the door.

The voices were quiet but firm. "...It's impossible. Completely out of the question. He is a rouge ninja, one known to be conspiring with the Akatsuki. He is a threat, a liability. Accommodating him will make the village look weak, nothing less than execution is acceptable."

"He is right, Kakashi." An old woman answered, "Even if Orochimaru is dead, him simply being here still poses a threat to the village. He could be a spy under the Akatsuki, sent to infiltrate the leaf."

"If that was the case, he would have walked right up to the gate and surrendered himself. Instead, he's rotting inside Mt. Hokage waiting to see whether he lives or dies. He wouldn't have put himself through this unless he was looking for reconciliation."

"I think that this could work in our favor." Another male spoke, "If Sasuke _has_ decided to ally with the leaf again, he would be a great asset. He is sure to have an extensive knowledge of the enemy, their locations, their intentions, and especially their capabilities and weaknesses. Not to mention the force he would be siding with the leaf again. Now that he has created a reputation for himself, he could also serve as a deterrent."

"Or attract hundreds of malicious ninja that want to test his power." The old woman spoke again. "The risk is just too great."

A voice much clearer, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

She jumped. "Oh! Shizune! I was just um... Waiting..." Her eyes saddened and she looked away, "You know... To give my report."

She sighed with a pitying smile. "Well, let's see if they're ready for you." Two firm knocks on the door and she was greeted with a bird mask.

He moved aside, "Shizune. Sakura. Lady Fifth has been expecting you."

She gathered her things and walked in slowly. Every eye was on her, she hesitated, but bowed courteously. It was okay now. Everything was numbing. She could do this. "I've come to report my examination."

"Proceed." Her Sensei answered. She sounded like she really needed a drink.

Her lips fumbled at first, "Sas- Um, Uchiha has sustained extensive injury. He is slipping in and out of consciousness, suffering from dehydration and malnutrition." She swallowed audibly, "His trachea was damaged and his throat is bruised, but he can still breathe. He has several minor lacerations over the span of his body, including from his bindings. Keeping in mind where he is being held, and without bathing, this makes him extremely susceptible to infection." She bit her lip when it started to tremble, "He has a severe puncture wound in his abdominal cavity, under his left rib, causing damage to his spleen and stomach." She dug her nails into her palms when tears welled up in her eyes. "Also, his brain is swelling and impact was apparent which indicates either a bruise of the brain or multiple concussions. They are in the vicinity between the parietal and temporal bone on either side." The room was quiet. "My professional advisement as a medical ninja..." She struggled to keep their gaze, "...Would be to have him admitted immediately. I would monitor him for the possibility of retrograde or fugue amnesia during his recovery. Reinforcing factors include insufficient oxygen supply to the brain, malnutrition, chakra deprivation, and stress." The following muteness was unbearable. She wanted to scream.

"...How far back will the amnesia go?" The old woman spoke.

"I'm not sure. The easiest explanation is the more damage, the worse the memory loss. So the sooner he is admitted and receives constant attention, the less likely it is that it will form or progress." Everything that came out was fluid, but it still felt like they betrayed the very mouth that spoke them.

"So, he might not remember what he has done at all?" A man lathed in bandages questioned. He had one arm in a sling, and she might have thought it was broken without the odd emittance of chakra coming from it.

She glared, "Amnesia is still just a possibility."

"Well." Tsunade rose from her chair. "That settles it." She nodded to her student and she raised her voice, "The meeting regarding Uchiha Sasuke will be postponed. I can't offer a sentence and allow us to come to verdict until he is conscious enough to be aware of his crimes and participate in trial. Admit him to the hospital immediately, I want constant surveillance. No visitors. The less people that know he is here right now, the better off we'll be." She scanned the faces of everyone in the room. No objections. "That is all, you are dismissed."

They stood mechanically, and bid courteous adieus. She watched as they reminisced and she heard none of them. They walked past her standstill in a blur, her eyes never left the Hokage. Everyone but Shizune left the room and her teacher flopped into her chair and pouted miserably at her sake bottle. "...Tsunade Sensei?"

She pinched the crease between her eyebrows. "Sakura?"

"Why me?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you make me do it?"

She grimaced and lost her gaze. She looked at Shizune who shook her head, and back at her, "We're short on staff. I couldn't spare anyone else."

"Sensei, please..." She didn't hide the tears that came this time. "There was so much blood... " She gagged and clenched a hand over her mouth.

Her eyes widened as she saw her student and remembered herself. The blonde bundle had made her courageous, he had made her cope, and he made her forget the pure fear and helplessness she used to feel at the sight of red. Tending to a love... That was something she never wanted her to feel, never wanted her to hold on to. She had given the flower strength, taught her skill, and fed the pride she flaunted, but confidence did not overcome everything. She knew she had a weakness for him, compassion, but she never knew the effect would be so intense. She never figured that after so long, and after everything he had done, that she would still be this dearly concerned and infatuated with him. Still, it couldn't have been anyone else. The little pink girl was staring at her, red, wet eyes darting all over her face for an answer. She sighed, removed the hat of the Hokage, and stood reluctantly. "I needed a bias opinion."

The innocent emeralds tore out her innards. "...What?"

"I want to see things turn out for the best, but..." The ashamed aura fled her and she returned the distraught gaze with an intensity. "I needed you to give something to the council that they couldn't refuse so he could receive treatment over the interval between his capture and his judgement."

"Why wouldn't they? He could die..."

"How much did you hear?"

"Um..."

"You know they already want him dead?"

"But one man said-"

"You also heard enough to know that going about this with leniency threatens my position?"

"Well..."

"And you're aware that the amnesia stunt will only stall the inevitable?"

"It wasn't a stunt, Sensei, I was genuinely concerned!"

"Sakura, I understand you had feelings for him, but he isn't the same person you knew before. He is a rouge ninja. What are you going to do when I can't protect him anymore?"

"Sensei..."

"And if by miracle I can get him that chance... What will you do if he fucks up again?"

"I..." It had never been a thought. Things had always seemed in reach. "I don't know..."

"I'm running out of rope... You need to let go before you hurt yourself."

She stood there, starring, digesting. It was impossible to think that after everything they had been though, and while they were so close, that it could be for nothing. Everything they had been fighting for for three years shattered by something completely out of their control. She couldn't imagine him being publicly executed to maintain an iron fist over the village on the brink of chaos and war. Not their friend. Not Sasuke-Kun. What did he ever do to deserve such a fate? "...How is Naruto?"

Tsunade picked up a small stack of papers, tapped them on her desk and slipped them into a clipboard. She held them out for her, "Naruto is in room 203, the floor under your new patient. You should go see him."

She didn't say a word. She lost herself in the pages. Shizune put a hand on her shoulder, whispered some comforts and helped her find door. They listened to the slow steps until they faded completely. "So... That's all you're going to tell her?"

She grunted and slammed the shot glass back down on the table, pouring another. "That's all she needs to know."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Carrions and Carry-Ons

Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own Naruto

Crust coated his eyelids and forcibly they flitted open with the grace of a staccato measure. It was dark. It was always dark but when the moonlight hit a point in the sky it illuminated his serenity. Mold and green scum plagued the rotted walls and loomed a heavy, musty stench. The bear earth was damp, flitted with small clover shrubs and bristle bunches of grass existing in an innocent niche. An incessant and slow drip infinitely and rhythmically puddled. Wisps of wind kissed the mugginess condensing to his features and followed the sinews of the cavern in echoes. A chill nipped at his skin and strained every breath into wheezes. Surges of pain coursed through him chronologically as they surfaced from a blurred consciousness. A splitting pain pulsed inside his head. Blisters had slunk a gooey and sticky conglomeration of fluid to the steel threads that bound him, the scabs splitting. His muscles trembled in fits, quivering vehemently against any attempt in using them. A gasping, gagging cough spewed red onto the steel bars he lay facing, shaking him wholly and pinpointing intolerable pains under his rib. A warm drool of blood and vomit pooled under his face and ear, cooling and crusting to his cheeks. A nauseating and immobilizing ache churned in his abdomen; a flow was felt at every tenketsu, something forcing chakra out of his veins. His clothes clung to him, heavy, sopping, emanating a pungent stench of perspiration, hydrochloric bile, and micturition. His eyes stung from the sweat and moist, dank miasma that slunk through his thick lashes. All he could see continuously faded into and out of a black haze shimmering with dots of light.

A delicate touch ghosted warmth along his cheekbone as it grazed the unnoticeable hairs; a sharp intake formed as the freezing skin tingled. Parched lips cracked and split and his eyes squinted into a soft smile as he heard a voice in the instants before unconsciousness, "…Thank you."

* * *

"You're going to get me in trouble if you stay here any longer." The eyelid-less man stated. "They're probably going to come to judge him soon."

"I know..." He was tinging a pallid cheek with orangish-brown smears. Shivering, he wrapped his arms tightly around himself. A cough shook through him, and he muffled the bloody abdominal earthquake in the nook of his bicep and forearm. A wave of dizziness hazed over him and his eyes fluttered closed. He rested his head on the cold bars with a light, reverberating twang.

The Jonin sighed as he watched a smile tried to play on the things face. He stopped bracing his wrist and suppressing the chakra of the unconscious smell on the floor to unzip his jacket. He slipped off the sleeveless green vest and draped it over the blonde's shoulders. "Come on Naruto. Back to the hospital before they notice." After the boy shimmied into it he threw one of Naruto's arms around his shoulder and wrapped one arm around his waist. He stuck his butt out awkwardly, bending his knees and readied to help him up.

"Yamato?" He spoke softly before he rose, weighted on the Jonin's shoulders.

He tried to stand straight for leverage before Naruto winced. "Yes?"

"What's going to happen to him?" He bit his lip harshly and his features trembled. "If he doesn't get admitted soon he's..."

The Jonin grimaced and looked at the wheezing lump. "They won't let him die."

"...How do you know?" He spat through his teeth. A small drop of blood dribbled leisurely down his chin. He clenched his fists tightly.

He gestured a ram. "They need him too."

* * *

An ANBU flashed and appeared behind him. He wore a white cloak and his mask was a dog's snout with three curved black marks above each eye.

His back was to him. "What's you're report?"

"They have moved him from Mt. Hokage to the top floor of the hospital, room 303. Medic kunoichi monitor his condition every hour, give or take fifteen minutes. Five ANBU stand watch and circulate every eight hours. One in the north, one in the east, one in the west, one in the south, and one in the southeast corner. They cover the main entrance and all fire and emergency exits as well as an additional troop near his room. A maximum of forty-eight seconds before the resumption of positions."

"Variables?"

"The one with pink hair stays with him sometimes and the Jinchuriki is healing extraordinarily fast."

"That doesn't leave us much time..." He traced over the indentions of the scar on his chin contemplatively. He turned to the shinobi, "You are dismissed."

He nodded and disappeared out the window.

A chuckle came from the shadows, "What an interesting predicament."

"You're finally ready to come out?"

"You noticed me? Very good. I shouldn't underestimate the power of Shisui's visual prowess."

His voice became menacing, "Who are you?"

He chuckled again. "That doesn't matter now. Just consider me someone with a solution to your problem."

"What business do you have?"

"My interested is in the little Uchiha. You're afraid of him leaking, right?" He watched the bandaged man before a feral grin grew taut across his face, "Or are you afraid of his vengeance?" He licked his lips, "I can get him out of your hair. You can continue your pathetic life in Hiruzen's shadow trying to overtake the Leaf and no one, especially the Sound and the Mist, will ever hear of how you ordered the slaughter of the entire Uchiha clan."

"I'm supposed to just give him up to you? How can I trust you if you won't even tell me your name?"

"I don't think you have much of a choice." He waved a finger at him, "You're in the council. You're supposed to be the good guy. If you slaughter him before his judgment day then you're going against the Hokage, and you won't have that measly bit of power you've managed to scrape off of the floor anymore. But if other parties intervened..." He watched as the bandaged man walked to look out window and over the town. "You know he is after blood. We could time it right, spread word, and frame Sasuke. It will make Tsunade look weak, and you could finally have your chance."

He sat down and slipped off his sling. He grunted as he unwound the bandages and they separated from his skin. He discarded them to the corner of the room and traced a finger around each of the eyes, rubbing the white flesh in between. They squinted and blinked. "...So what do you suggest?"

He smiled and pushed up his glasses. "Get closer. Watch his every move. Offer the specialized troops of The Foundation for surveillance. It will allow her to keep her shinobi where they need to be: guarding and prospering the village. She can't waste her time babysitting a traitor, it would be stupid of her to refuse."

"And if she does?"

"Pursue her. You're bodyguards, one of them is a Yamanaka, no?"

"Mind control is only temporary. Even if she didn't resist it completely, she would still know what happened when she came out of it."

"There are those much weaker and more pliable that still have influence on her. Also... That eye you have is a wonderful embezzlement. I hear Shisui could impose thoughts on others as if they were their own." He grinned darkly.

He turned back around to face the figure cloaked in the shadows. "What part would you play?"

"I will keep the dogs off you, and get my hands dirty when the time comes. I'll fake his death and be your scapegoat. No one will ever think a thing."

He sighed and sat down. "Can you guarantee that no one will ever see him again?"

"Definitely."

He twirled off the bandages on his face and left them hanging at his neck. He started rubbing his temples. "I still don't trust you, but my eyes... They see the truth." He looked up at him, looked him up and down. He noticed the multiple chakra signatures and his familiar. He judged him. The strange man never fidgeted, never adverted his gaze, and never wavered. "...What's our first move?"

Author's Note:

Okay, so here's the deal. Everything is still kind of subject to change and I will probably revise these chapters. Suggestions, comments, and criticisms welcome. This is basically just something for my few lovely followers. :D Soo… Who want to see Sakura go absolutely insane? BTW, 150 views and no reviews is not okay. I'm gonna cry.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Are You Gonna Eat That?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

It sat with patience, taking in the vibrations through its feet. Everything was heavier with the collection of dew from yesterday's rain, littering blinding sparkles along the fine threads. They made it hard to adjust position, lest the adhesive be lost or a thread break, so it did not dawdle. The wind breathed slow breaths, drawing in long inhales and light, continuous exhales that moved the wet web ever slight. The sun began to soak up the moisture and gave the dawn warmth, the musk stealing most any distinctive scent. Huddled in the corner of a lit window, the chill wasn't as relentless today but it would be a long few months before it receded. It waited, distinguishing between the climate, the breeze, when everything beneath began to shake violently. Instinct pinpointed the source of disturbance and tension, and it drank the blood of the sweetest fly in days.

* * *

The morning boasted rays that proclaimed themselves proudly through the panes of the hospital window. Dust danced loftily in the ostentatious beams, ensuing each other in a slow, gravitational cavort. The leaking sun gleamed off the polished floor and made him squint. His toes peeked out through the sheets and he wiggled them in the reflections. It radiated a comfortable warmth, and he knew the chill that hung outside and emanated near the window. He starred at his silhouette on the wall, swaying a little.  
The small room created an oppressive aura that made him acutely aware of everything around him. The bed was in the southeast corner, a few feet away from the window and parallel to the door. The sheets were thin and rough, a low thread count muslin cotton and bright white. The ceiling looked as if they had dabbed globs of white paint with bristle tips of a brush at the wood in arches, creating a patterned cascade of organized improvidence. The walls were a flat light blue, incapable of imbibing in the valor and bettering themselves by the alimentary rays of dawn. A valance was scrunched along the top of the window, illuminating a stale baby blue. The countertop lining the west wall was thick, a freckled beige with a glossy finish and had a small stainless steel sink in the middle. The thin, brown, particle board cabinets above and below the sink had keyholes and were labeled clearly as bio-hazardous. He saw the applesauce that was there since yesterday and poked his tongue out with distaste. His eyes drifted to his bandages, he pulled at the ones that were loose and pressed at the spots of dried blood, wincing. Looking at the clock again, he sighed. Ten minutes.

"So you heard?" Something giddy belched.

"Yeah!" A pig squealed. It hushed itself, "Who gets to treat him?"

They were both medic kunoichi, and they were coming closer. It whined, "They already put Sakura on the case. It's kind of on the down low too so shh!"

"Hey, isn't he kinda a rogue nin?"

"Yeah, hot right?"

She hummed in response. "Mm, makes me want to come in a little early."

"Yeah but then you'll get stuck with clinic duty."

A giggling tangled pair tumbled into his room and grew much more serious. The light blonde went to the cabinet above the sink and rummaged. The other, a brunette in a ponytail, glared at him intently, stethoscope in hand.

"Miniki-chan!" He spread out his arms.

"Sit up." She restrained no malice.

"Bah! You all are so mean! I almost died, you guys should be fluffing my pillows or something."

"You're fine." A cold round metal was pressed against his skin and she starred at her watch, mouthing numbers. A minute passed and her gaze reconnected, "Cough."

Dramatically he leaned toward her, opened his mouth wide and coughed exasperatingly and breathily in her face. Her nose scrunched and she drew away. "Brush your teeth. Oh, and you still have coagulated blood in your lungs so don't kill yourself. It might get me fired."

The blond one came back with gloved hands and a pair of scissors. "Okay, just hold still-" She paused. "This is the... Other one?"

She didn't even look at her. "Don't inflate his ego. I'm already surprised we can fit in the same room with it." She pushed her aside and snipped at his dressings. She looked at him, "You're lucky she's new or else she would know better."

He scoffed, "Pfft! You know you want this too." He grinned and gestured his hands down his body.

She dabbed something on the wound that made him scream and lurch forward. "Look what you did, now you're bleeding again."

"Alright ladies, that's enough."

"Sakura, thank Kami! They're trying to kill me!"

The girls wrote down a few numbers on a clip board and found the door. Seven minutes and twenty-two seconds.

Sakura placed a vase of shrubs with tiny white flowers on them on the countertop next to the sink. She giggled when the blonde grimaced, "They're not very pretty..."

"They're white heather. They aren't very pretty, yeah, but they're resilient. They represent protection and good fortune. They're found in desolate, rocky, dry landscapes, places any normal flower would die. They survive, even dominate the landscape, flourishing beautiful and bright despite the world against them. It's amazing really, how long they survive without any tending and nourishment... Brimming with life without an ounce of love from anyone..."

"Will they protect me from those nurses?"

She laughed half-heartedly and starred at the flowers. Her eyes followed the outlines of the buds, the blooming, and the blossomed. "Naruto..."

"I know..." His gaze fixated on the window again through squinted eyes, the hour was too blinding to see through. "How is he...?"

The sudden seriousness of him perturbed her. "Better... Stable." She starred at the the light that threaded through his golden hairs and the seraphic aura it bathed him in under the shadow of the forenoon sun. "He has been mumbling your name... In his sleep."

She saw the square jawline gape, but nothing came out. The sheets suffocated in his fists. She realized she had said something awfully forbidden and provocative. "What happened that day?"

The air stilled in his lungs and hung around him with a heaviness. His heart beat furiously and thumped deafeningly inside his ears, spreading aching disturbances through his body that burned his skin alive. Every bit of his being tensed and trembled with rage and yet his vision started to blur. He was filled with so many things and couldn't make sense of one of them. What did he know? Sasuke's last step to ultimate power was through him. Next, if he truly wanted to kill him he would have. Does this mean that he wasn't interested in power anymore? Had Sasuke gotten his vengeance? Or did he have things to do in the leaf? He was holding back this time, so did he intend to use him to get into the village? He had taken that hit willingly and with purpose, there was no regret. He would do anything in his power to keep him here, to change his mind, to give him something else to live for. He felt relief but above all, knowing he was okay made him angry. He wanted to rearrange his face for almost dying with him. He was scared. He wanted answers. He did something he could barely find the courage within him to do and he needed to know what would become of it. He felt ashamed at the thought that he would probably be leading him with guilt, but simultaneously he felt exhilaration and anticipation, a grand piano strung above his heart. In the end, it was whatever got the answers out of him. What had happened that day? None of her business. Not until he could figure this out himself. He was not carefree, but then he was not Naruto. He didn't want to lie to her either, so he chewed his lip silently.

"You can tell me, Naruto. Even if it hurts." Something strange welled up inside of him. It was that same feeling he got when Sasuke did something better than him. It mixed sickly with his protective and compassionate conscious. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to slap her. Maybe not in that order. "When he wakes up is..." She choked on it. "Is he going to stay...?"

Those words... He needed to sew his lips shut. He didn't ever want to hurt her, not now, not later. Her look seemed to solemn slowly, some speck in the corner glazed over her eyes. She was lost in it for a while. "You know, he might develop amnesia..."

It ate at him relentlessly, it felt like someone was squeezing his ribs and setting fire to his chest. A lead weight on his shoulders. He had to tell her something. "Sakura, I..."

She was leaning forward like she was intrigued, but that look she gave... It wasn't an unbiased caring, it looked nervous. It looked expectant. "Yeah?"

"I'm tired..." He wiped his palms at his eyes and put a hand on his stomach, conspicuously over his wound.

Her sigh was audible. She stood, "Alright." He jumped when fingers wove gently through his tousled hair. He starred at her with a look that probably presented itself as unhindered surprise, if not fear. She gave a soft smile, pressed her hands on either side of his face and put a small dab of lip gloss on his forehead. Lip gloss? The look was plastered to his face as he watched her walk out of the room, steal another glance at him, and giggle after a sad smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

With the click of the door he shook his head violently out of his stupor and looked at the clock. Forty-two seconds. That's good enough.

"Oi, Miniki! Fluff my damn pillows!"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Hokage-Shmaze

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own Naruto. There are some quotes in here taken directly from episodes ninety to ninety-fIve. Yes, most of this chapter is in italics. I'm sorry.

* * *

_Here it comes again... This is about when it happens now, three bottles in. Guess my tolerance is getting lower._

"Hey sis, I'm home!" A clangor of things fell to the floor. She heard him throw his shoes and trudge into the kitchen_. I could feel the life brimming from him across the house._ "Hey sis, you gotta see!"

She plucked off the oven mitts and smiled._ I already knew._ "Yeah?"

Smaller feet scurried across the tile. "Look, look! I graduated!"

She faced the beautiful bundle of sunshine. He held up an official headband of Konohagakure high above his head, all up on his tip-toes and plastered with a wide goofy grin_. I remember the endearment but now, it just drops my heart to my feet. I remember being proud of him. He was the grandson of the first Hokage, of course he would graduate early. Probably the best in his class next to an Uchiha. I remember being proud of myself for teaching him well and doing something right. I think karma used to like me better. I remember being scared. I couldn't recall how many times I had warned him not to let these things go to his head. The village was still young, still at war. If he stayed so headstrong he would never survive. He was such a just and determined soul, the very first to say when something was wrong and stand up for what he believed. It was loud, it was endearing, and most of all it was dangerous. He didn't know how to keep his nose down, and for better or worse he would follow his heart. I wanted to burn the headband and keep him here forever, but I couldn't. He had dreams. Noble ones. I wanted to see them realized just as strongly as I worried about him every day. I wanted to bask in that bright, toothy grin forever, the light that twinkled in the midst of depression and horror. I had already seen the macabre that was this war, maybe more than most because after all the bodies were carried to me. Treatment, reinforcement, antitoxins, autopsies, it never ended after they drew their kunais. I wanted that light in my soul, I would have given everything to keep it, do anything to make it brighter. My little brother. I remember my last resort. I remember feeling that I could only hope that if or when he ever faced the end, undeniable odds, that he would remember there are people waiting for him to come home... That I was waiting for him to come home. I was waiting for that smile.  
_  
He sunk. "...Aren't you proud of me?"

She gasped at her falter and embraced him tightly, swinging him from side to side. _I was his mother_. "Of course I am, good job honey! I never had any doubt."

_In some sense it was heartbreaking that someone so young was thinking so big. He thought more about the village than he thought about himself. When he did think about himself, it was only to gather the strength to protect the village. He never gave himself a chance to be a child. We might have been in war but it was no reason to rip innocent children away from their toys and throw them into battle. I'm sure things would have changed with him a little once he realized girls didn't have coodies, because just as a caterpillar turns to a butterfly it is inevitable a boy will bloom into a pervert. _

She broke away from the ball of giggles and wrapped the forehead protector around his chestnut hair._ I was his mother, but I was still his sister_. "Still..." She stood and poked the symbol of the leaf and he stumbled backward a little. "You didn't graduate as early as I did."

He grit his teeth, balled a fist, and pointed accusingly behind him like the Academy might have been in the back of the room. "Hey! I still graduated two years earlier than everyone else!"

She giggled and put the oven mitts on, shaking her head. _I never took him seriously when he threw his fits._

"Pff! You won't be able to push me around soon! Pretty soon I'm gonna be a chunnin and ima beat your butt!"

"Beat my butt, huh?" She waggled her back side at him.

He blushed at the challenge and his embarrassment. "Quit treating me like I'm still just a kid! I'm a genin now, I'm part of the Konohagakure military force, I'm not a child!"

_You are a child, and maybe if you had realized it then you never would have..._ She turned off the oven and put the thick glass deep-dish pan on the stovetop over a couple pot holders. "Well, I suppose if you're not a kid anymore then you won't want this cake. Because cake, you know, is just for little-"

Hands tugged at her blouse and a little head peeped over the countertop to get a good look. "Wait! Wait! Maybe umm..."

Her smile returned and she placed a hand on her hip. "Maybe what?"

He starred at the floor and traced shapes in it with his big toe. "Maybe I can still be a kid... For a little while..."

She patted his head and teased. "You'll always be a kid to me, Otouto."

He fixed his headband and clasped his tousled hair. "Hey!"

_If that was how it had to be, I wanted him to be able to protect himself_. "Now be good and go read up on your jutsu until I get the icing on. Then you can have some."

That grin spread to his ears. "Okay!"

_I remember that I starred. I watched the bliss run into the living room and plop right down on the couch with his book. I watched the ignorance and innocence play. I was worried, but I had confidence. I can still feel the happy smile that I spoke through, and how badly my cheeks started to hurt when I did. Things were so simple. I gave him my necklace four years later as a symbol of my hope, for good luck... I never knew... I never thought that it would end like that..._

_For the longest time I blamed myself. I thought maybe if I had trained him better in sensory, gotten him to develop and perfect his natural shinobi instinct, that he would have avoided that trap. Even if he didn't avoid it completely, at least he could have gotten out of it alive. Even in pieces, I could have_ _cauterized_ _them, I could fix them and wrap my arms around the light of my soul again. It wasn't until I was faced with Orochimaru, and I considered his deal, that I realized how twisted my thoughts had really gotten, the hole Shizune continuously tried to pull me out of. I realized that even if he had survived it, he might never have gone back on the field. The constant ache of having his dream shattered by something out of his control would have dimmed his light. He would have slowly lost all hope and faith in his village, in the people of this world, until all that was left was another shriveling stain of war. It wouldn't have been Nawaki. Even if Orochimaru could have pieced together his body and created some resemblance of my brother, he would never be the little boy I knew._

_I got out of that rut slowly. Eventually I consumed myself in, wrapped my entire life around the ambition of making Konoha a safer place. I took every opportunity I could to advocate the necessity of a strong defense, a medical academy. I wanted to help save lives, I wanted to keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else. A medical ninja on every team, it would increase survival rate and thus the percentage of successful missions. It made sense, it was solid, but we were still at war. No one was going to wait for us to make an arsenal of clerics. But he shared my dream, Dan Kato and his teal eyes. When everyone shot me down, he stood next to me. It was like a fairy tale, and I was hesitant to fall into the fruitless cogitation of "us against the world". I found myself loving him for his beliefs and admiring him for his strength. I wrapped my arms around the hope I wanted to feel. Another light peeped out of the rubble and I dared to bask in it._

_He never had a strong, undeniable heritage like Nawaki and I did. He was a notable jonin with unique and formidable techniques, but he had nothing that guaranteed him the most powerful position in the village and most likely would have been ruled out because he wasn't militant enough. The longer the war raged on, the more people lost, and the less they cared about kindness, our heritage, successors of the "will of fire". They just wanted it to end. I suppose at the time I just wanted to hope again. No matter how unattainable it seemed, I wanted to believe. I wanted to think that some good could come out of dreaming, that whoever was pulling the strings wasn't as sadistic as the thoughts that pulled me under at night. I felt it once in those beautiful moments with Dan, that doubt, but there was more to our efforts than him becoming Hokage. We both dreamed of a better world, a safer world, new medical clauses, precautions, reformed teams. Together I was sure that we could make our village better but... I was proved wrong again. I was stricken down for allowing myself to feel that hope. For having expectations._

_He died with my promising words. I lied to him as his pulse slowed and his blood oozed between my fingers. I told him he was going to be okay, that he was going to live to help me make our homeland a beautiful place. If I had to face him again after that... I don't think he would forgive me. We were dating, sure, and I loved him more than I had loved anything in a long time but our goals always seemed to be one step above our relationship. Faced between a love now years beyond her time and the rage that would fester inside of him, I'm sure I would have lost that wager._

_I shamed myself for years for ever believing in something again. I vowed night after night, when I lied down and felt that loneliness or when I drank too much and balled my eyes out under Shizune's faithful and pitying hand that I would never invest in anything again. Nothing except the dice and the cards. Expectations left too much room for disappointment, trust left too much room for unimaginable pain. I threw everything away but the curse around my neck; my money, my looks, my life, and everyone's respect. The necklace was the only thing I had that reminded me of them, of who they used to be, and why I could never make the same mistake._

_For the longest time I was in darkness, until I found you. You obnoxious, boisterous, annoying, slobby_, _rude, disrespectful, orange, dramatic, whining, snotty, sappy, lively, just, vibrant, adorable little brat. At first I hated you for your dreams, your foolish dreams. I wanted to beat them out of you until you accepted that the only thing you would ever get out of life is sadness, hopelessness, defeat, and you should start preparing yourself for it now. I wanted to hate you so badly, but I guess I'm a fool too. I felt ashamed at myself for betting against a kid, after I watched him work so hard to win. I was literally disgusted with myself, what had I turned into? I decided silently that I would do what was right, find my own way again._

_That was the first time I almost lost that new light, against Orochimaru. I wanted to help him, but I was so afraid of the blood. I could remember his snotty med-nin's words..._

"What a tragedy. I had only the utmost respect for you as a fellow medical ninja."

"Get ahold of yourself Lady Tsunade, else the name of Sannin, of which Lord Orochimaru is counted, weep for shame."

"You deplore the name of the Sannin. You will never be in the same league as Orochimaru. You are completely undeserving of the title."

_As he spoke to Naruto, he had said everything I warned Nawaki, everything I cursed him in his death for not thinking. He could be alive now if he had just been careful..._

"You're just a kid."

_Just accepted his limits..._

"You're in over your head."

_Just kept his nose down..._

"Sometimes it's better to run away."

_Just have thought of himself..._

"What's a matter, huh? If I kill you you can for get all about your dreams."  
_  
Just had remembered his dreams..._

"That's their biggest flaw, kids. They go chasing after some stupid dream, then they die."

_But he got up anyway._

_In all his vibrant orange._ "Enough! I'm not giving up! I never go back on my word! That's my nindo, my ninja way!"

_With the same look, the same determination as my little brother._ "Get ready to eat your words. I'm going to win that bet and your cursed necklace will be mine!"

_Through my shaking I screamed at him. I was in awe, but I was scared. He couldn't die, he couldn't lose his dreams, not for my sake._ "Stop Naruto! You don't have to protect me!"

_Kabuto charged at him with a kunai. Naruto's left femur was fractured, his right trapezius was disabled, and the vastus lateralis in his right leg was severed. He shouldn't have even been able to stand up. The pain he must have went through that day..._ "I warned you not to be stubborn, now you die! Dreams don't come true when you're dead!"

_I yelled at him._ "Just get out of the way Naruto! Clones can't help you!"

_But he caught that blade._

"Don't you worry about me. No matter what happens, until I become Hokage I'm not gonna die!"  
_  
And he won my necklace, just like he said he would._

She smiled at her neglected shot glass. _Look at me now, brat._ I'm _Hokage. I'm up on the throne that I began to despise them for wanting. It killed everyone I loved, and look at me now. Still trying to make this village better. Still believing in you. I never forgot the sacrifices made by the Hokages in this village before me, but that day I stopped forsaking them. I vowed to follow their footsteps and put my own life on the line for the village. You ignited the pride in me and taught me to have faith again. I cherished their memories, Dan and Nawaki. I never forgot them, I kept on our dreams. Just like they would have wanted.  
_  
The liquor on her tongue was starting to make her nauseous. She placed her arms on the table and rested her head on them. Instantly, a brick slammed on the back of her head and little imps began pushing her eyelids down. Her muscles felt useless, like all the willpower in the world couldn't raise her arms, even in the face of death.

She tilted her head and rested on the right side of her face. A copy of Naruto's medical report was stacked on top of a small, vaguely organized stack of papers. _So close... I was so close to losing him that night. If Shizune hadn't been picnicking with Yamato..._

She slid her arms and face off the tabletop, hopped her chair in closer, pulled the paper to herself and skimmed wobbly over the words. _The kid is fucking remarkable. You're so young and yet you didn't hate, you rose up to prove everyone wrong. Even beyond that, you always wanted to give everyone a chance, you find the good in people. People like me. You bring people back from the depths of their own soul, even when they think that they are lost themselves. It's because if you decided to hate the world, they would deserve it, and if you flipped, you would do it right. Nothing would be left. I couldn't handle another... Uzumaki Naruto, my hope dies with you._

She chuckled. _I decided that a while ago. When he wanted to throw his time away chasing an old teammate, I considered it part of my job description to keep his faith. My first thought was to smack him and tell him he would waste years of his life trying to bring home someone that was already gone. I wanted to remind him that he had bigger things to worry about, dreams to follow, and the Uchiha was only in the way... But I was in their shoes once._

_There was one time where I thought I could save Orochimaru from being consumed by his hate. Jiraya of course was much more eccentric than I was. I had the ignorance to think that I could show him there was_ _more in life, that there were people that cared. It really was just ignorance, but it's different this time. This time Naruto brought him back into the village, whether it was by a hair or not. I still remember feeling the hurt, like we weren't worth keeping near, that everything we had been through was pointless, that the bonds to us didn't matter in life. He had a chance to succeed, and if I could do anything to stop the same thing from happening to him I would. But it probably will be my neck..._

She sighed and poured the five ounces back into their chambers, but it was barely worth it. The droplets echoed up the neck of the bottle and she knew it was almost out. She sighed heavily. "I want to be Hokage. That's what he says. That's what they all said. True bearers of the will of fire..." She smirked at her grandfather's words. "Will of fire..."

Her eyebrows crunched together as something clicked in the back of her brain. She stood up fast, then caught herself on the desk and waited for her equilibrium to catch up. Stumbling over to her bookcase, she thumbed viciously through different volumes, mouthing words. She pulled out a thick book with gold-thread binding and a hard, green cover. "Folklore of the Senju Clan."

_I remember this as a little girl... My father would read to me the legends of our clan. He tried to instill the pride of Konohagakure in me, telling me that one day I had a chance to lead this nation._

She scrolled through the index, she could feel the way her body had to keep self-correcting its stature. The alcohol was really getting to her. _Every great leader of the Senju Clan had what my grandfather referred to as the will of fire. It was prophesied that these great leaders descended directly from the sage of the six paths, the teacher of all ninjutsu and the creator of the tailed beasts. But just as there is yin and yang chakra, there is always a balance between good and evil. He told me it was why Madara had attacked the village but... What was it again? This? Page. 413, the Curse of Hatred._

* * *

Author's Note: I really meant to slow this story down and raise my word count to create something semi-meaningful or satisfying. Better? Worse? Wanna hit me for not updating fast enough? Do you know what the curse of hatred is...? Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman is in my predictive text.


	7. Lemonade

Chapter 6- Lemonade

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own Naruto.

Everything swirled around him, brisk and sure like a current. He felt like he was floating, buoyantly suspended in lukewarm tranquility. He was moving slowly, he felt it in his ears, felt dizzy. He could feel the water flowing through his hands and toes, it tickled a little. Bits of watercress and cattails brushed his fingers. His clothes meandered, sliding against his skin and dancing lazily with the stream. He wanted to plant to a rock like the algae at the bottom of the lucid river and soak up the fiddling rays of sun until time didn't matter. He wanted to melt in the tepid water, a vile solvent that by that chaste, sound, beneficent amenity might be absolved. His heartbeat was flittering and warm, it moved glaciers and a smile came upon his face.

His eyelids turned orange and he closed his eyes tighter, he grimaced and turned his head away. Something sharp jabbed and nipped at his chest, picking at his shirt. He brushed at it and it stopped. He shielded himself with an arm, water dripping onto his face he looked into the sky. He was gazing into the breeze, through the canopy, to the blotches of light flickering between the rustling leaves. The wind blew lightly across his wet face, the chill it wrought was refreshing and he breathed in deeply. He could hear the roaring of a waterfall in the distance, crashing against the rocks, misty and awe inspiring. Here was simply the pleasant trickling of the downstream that harmonized with its ecosystem, the frogs, the dragonflies, the birds...

He jumped when a raven cawed in his face. "Gah! Shit!"

He swatted at it, but it didn't leave. It kept taking his shirt in its beak and flapping madly. Did it really want his shirt? Did it want him out of the water? He didn't want to go, not yet. Not back to that dungeon. He smacked it and it flew away...

He noticed he had stilled, he looked around him to see the mouth of the stream had opened up and he was in a lake. It was deeper here, more chilly. He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to drift into serenity again.

Something started bubbling on his left. His ear turned into the water and his breathing and heartbeat echoed inside his head like they were a duet in an auditorium. They rose slowly to the surface, popping. He watched something wiggle slowly up to the top, it was a perfect circle._ A ball? No... A lure, maybe? That means someone else was here..._

With a groan, he drifted off his back and swam to the object. He reached out toward it, it didn't feel like plastic. It was warm... He turned it around and saw a red iris with three black commas in it. It was an eyeball! The entire lake began to bubble, eyes rising from the depths and turning to him. He swam as fast as he could to the bank, but the water got thicker, turning a deep red. He screamed, something took hold of his ankles and dragged him under the water. He thrashed violently but more hands took hold of him, his wrists, his waist, his throat. His heart beat furiously and he starred at the surface. A cloaked shadow stood on the surface, silhouetted by the red aura of sun shimmering through the lake of blood. He just watched him drown. The chuckling resonated in his ears as his starving lungs convulsed.

"Wake up."

* * *

He was writhing in his sleep, choking and spitting with his eyes closed tight. There was still dried blood on his cheeks.

"Wake up." He tapped his cheek twice. "I know you're there. Your chakra signature is revitalized."

The eyes shot open, wide, red, and wild. He put a hand over his mouth for the scream he knew came next, the boy braced the wrist, trashing violently.

"Calm the fuck down before you kill yourself on the ventilator." He hissed.

Hyperventilating, he took in the image of the man above him. Grey hair, leaf headband, make-out tactics. He calmed himself, trying to sync with the air forcing in and out of his lungs.

He whispered fiercely, "Good. Don't say my name, you have no idea who I am understand?"

His eyebrows furrowed but he nodded slowly. The hand withdrew and he wiped the drool off his face. He didn't bother talking. His throat was hoarse and he was shivering in a cold sweat, trying to figure out how to breathe. Trying to figure out how he got where he was. Everything was a cold or a neutral color and nothing was furnished. No chairs, no curtains, no sanitizers, not even a sink. There was just the bed the silver-haired jonin hung off the side of, that machine down his own throat, and a tiny stool with a water and a chicken and rice meal that must have been days old. It all reeked of ammonia. He suddenly felt privileged to have a window. A gloomy dusk of moonlight seeped in though the glass panes, it must have been about eight. Wherever it was, it was better than before. Better than being pushed constantly to the nauseating brink of death, conscious for only minutes at a time. If that was his treatment before his word, he didn't want to know what was to come.

He starred at him intently. "You get one chance. One. Don't fuck this up. Now..." He turned off the alarm system connected to the machine. Turning down the support down to no assist, he deflated the tube cuff. He placed a finger between the fork in the endotracheal tube that led into both nostrils. "Relax your throat, exhale, and try not to gag."

He nodded, but lurched when it started to slip out of his sore, dry throat. He grabbed the wrist, swallowed hard and continued. With the end of the tube he coughed up the hydrochloric acid and phlegm that came with it. It reminded him of the stab in his abdomen, the skin felt taut. He ran his fingers over it and thumbed between the stitches. Someone had tended to him already, no wonder he smelled less. He still had brutal hunger pangs and his head felt like it would split in half, but he didn't have the intense nausea and steel threads rubbing consistently against his blisters. His chakra was replenishing.

"Do you know where you are?"

He shrugged. "Konoha hospital?"

He slapped him. "No, no you don't. It's a complete mystery to you."

He held his cheek and seethed. "A basement with a window?"

"Good, good, we'll go with that. It adds some delusion. Do you remember what happened last?"

He was beginning to catch on. "No."

He slapped him again. "Maa, that will never do. You have to remember something, perhaps your trip here or your previous goals. You couldn't have lost your entire memory."

The sheets turned to dust in his fists. He sneered and spit out his words. "I was running through a damn field of daisies."

"Mm. Very nice. Let me try to make things clear for you." He spoke soft but firm. "You have been awarded an absurdly fortuitous loophole, and I expect you to take advantage of it with the utmost gratitude. I want answers, and if you refuse you can always go back to your cave."

"What kind of answers?"

He leaned forward, pushed up his headband and bore into his eyes. "Why are you here?"

* * *

When the rabbit crosses, the countdown begins.

"Miniki! I'm dying! Help!" The noises resonated throughout the hospital. Many grumbles and protests followed.

Her blonde coworker giggled and mused, "Better go help then, his life might be in danger."

"My ass."

Her smile kept. "You still need to keep him quiet."

She shoved her tray away. "Unless it involves a shovel, I don't wanna."

A belligerent voice bled through the floor. "Miniki, please! Help!"

The blonde nurse poked at her food. "You know, you could have avoided this all together if you didn't take the call button away from him."

"Miniki!"

She yelled grittily while trudging up the stairs. "Shut up you idiot, I'm coming!"

She heard pounding on the second floor. "No! ...No! No! No!"

She ran across the hall, opened the lever door and slammed the heavy wood against the wall. "What?!" He was gone. She peeked inside and looked around the freckled counter. Nothing. She gave a few knocks at the small bathroom door and put an ear to it. Nothing. She went back out into the hallway and looked right to left. "Naruto? Where are you?"

Dramatic sobbing came from her left. "Oooh God!"

An exceptionally cranky old man yelled from the elevator that dinged in front of her. The decrepit bag of wrinkles steadily inched his walker, "He's in the damn kitchenette! I can hear it all the way upstairs!" Many distinct coughs of a heavy smoker followed.

"Oh, should have figured..." Her steps were slow now.

She heard the man grumbling still through toothless gums, "Darn I gone and pissed myself... Damn whippersnappers."

She stood in front of the open door three rooms down with her hands on her hips. "Naruto, what are you... Oh! What happened?"

He was on his knees in front of the microwave covered in noodles and food bits. He sniffled repeatedly, starring at his hands. "Iruka Sensei went through all the trouble of sneaking me in my premium, limited edition winter festival pork ramen and and and..." He pulled steaming noodles off himself and a slight red trail was left behind, "and I spilt it! All off it! Now it hurts and I'm still hungry!"

She scoffed. "You and that damn ramen. Come on, get up you big baby."

He banged his head on the counter top. "I'm gonna die!"

"You're in a kitchen. There's plenty of food in the fridge that's open to patients, you'll be fine."

"It's already been three days with no ramen!" He crawled over to her and grasped the end of her white coat tightly, starring into her eyes. "Three days! I can't survive!"

She mushed her hand into his face and stepped the rest of her body away. "You're being a child! Get up and go back to your room where you're supposed to be!"

"Oh, please Miniki, please! You have to get me ramen! I'll do anything! I won't bother you for a week, a whole week! Well, besides, you know the check ups and all and these bandages start to itch..."

She was stroking her chin thoughtfully. "A whole week, huh?"

He looked at her with blatant surprise. "You'll really do it?"

She raised a brown eyebrow, "I don't know. Now I'm reconsidering."

"No, wait! Yes! Okay! Please! Yes! Thanks!"

She smirked. "You going to give me the money?"

He pouted. "Huh? I haven't been on a mission in a week, I don't have any... I'll pay you back though! Believe it!"

She scoffed and rubbed his head. "Whatever. Just go to your room and wait for me, okay? You're going to get me in trouble. Nobody is going to believe that a mortally wounded sixteen year old got up and out of ICU in three days." She watched him glance to the window in the back of the room. "Oh, it's open. No wonder it's so chilly in here." She paced to it. "Go on now, you'll catch a cold and be here even longer. Nobody wants that."

He reached quickly in her direction. "Wait, but-!"

"Wait what?" She reached her head out the window. Three shinobi stood on the nearby tree, congregating. "ANBU? Around the hospital...?"

A bird sighed. "Back up here again. I don't know if I can stand any more of this boring crap."

A mole-like creature responded. "This is part of your duty. Stop whining."

A rabbit contributed. "Yeah, at least we're guarding a fugitive and not the gates. Nothing ever happens out there."

The bird continued. "I guess you're right. Hey, where's the dog?"

The mole dead-panned. "He got sent on a mission outside the village, remember?"

The bird chirped. "Oh right! Something in Tea country, poor guy."

A man in a dog mask jumped over to their tree. "Yo peeps! Ready to get down?"

The rabbit didn't hop. "What... What was that again?"

The bird sung quietly. "Hey wait, I thought..."

"Yeah I know. They reassigned one of the new genin teams, thank Kami! I need the money, but I can't waste all that time on a D mission for an awful sum. At least pay on guard duty is steady."

The mole sounded bored. "I hear that. Well, about five minutes til shift starts."

She hummed to herself. "They're much less intimidating when they're not stalking around all quiet and creepy-like. The puppy sounds like he has a nice smile... Ah well," She slid the window down and locked it. When she turned back to him rubbing the chill off her arms he was still on his knees, dusted with a light blush. It took a few seconds. "What...? Oh! You didn't! You perv!"

"Huh...? What...?" He realized she had to bend over to stick her head out the window and... "Oh no! It's nothing like that, I swear it! Ah! Don't kill me!"

* * *

Miniki rushed down the stairs grumbling. Hopping down the last few steps, she whipped around the corner to the waiting lobby. She slid behind the front desk and stalked the receptionists until one noticed.

"Need your check-up sheets? Here. Since you're early you can handle some of the walk-ins in triage. You know the drill, the ones with no insurance go in back."

She was handed a clipboard filled with papers. "Fuck..." She turned in a few circles before heading into the cafeteria. Come on... Where are you... Where are you... Aha! "Sakura!"

The rose bud was curled up in a corner table, crouched over her food. She had not quite registered anything yet besides the cherry that stood out prominently in her fruit cup and whether or not she should save it for last.

The brunette slammed a hand on the square and unsteady table, panting lightly. "Sakura, hey. Busy?"

She blushed when she thought of the check-up due in a few minutes. "Yeah, a little. Why?"

"Naruto wants me to get him some ramen. At this point I'll do just about anything to keep him quiet and out of trouble. One more crack down from boss lady granny and it's my head on a platter. Feel me?"

"Well, I have things on my plate as well-"

"It's cheap shit anyway. I think I got the good end of the deal. So could you cover my back for a little bit? I'm just gonna get some take-out from Ichiraku."

"Uh... I guess if it's only for a little bit."

She checked the chronograph on her wrist before setting the clipboard on the table. "Great, thanks! See you in a few!"

A pink-haired head followed the blur that ran out the door. When had she gotten so rambunctious?

Sakura ate the cherry anyway and stacked all the crumpled napkins on her tray, dabbing up some of the crumbs on the table. She dumped out the tray and stacked it with the rest on top of the trash can. She grabbed the clipboard and stepped slowly out from the cafeteria and into the waiting room across the hall past the stairs. The elevator was in between them and there were stairs again on the other side, a sort of half-circle. She mumbled segments of the paper as her eyes skimmed. "Clinic duty, seriously? What happened to her rounds?"

The waiting room was a little more boisterous than normal. A few people were huddled around a man in the far right corner. She leaned left, leaned right, propped up on her toes to get a look at him. He was decently built, dressed plainly in jeans and a blue tee. Thick chestnut locks popped out of a baseball cap that covered his face. He was shaking a little, a hand clenched over his left arm, right under his shoulder. She gasped and stepped further into the room when she saw the blood between his fingers. The arm was clenched tightly to his side, trying to cover the red stain that drenched the side of his shirt and stuck it to his abdomen.

An older man felt the seated wounded one. "Yeah! He's burning up!"

A female voice, "Look at all the blood he's lost!"

A mid-range male voice, "You should be in the emergency, not the clinic!"

The mysterious, bloody man looked at the stairs and then at the clock on the wall above the front desk. He cursed under his breath. "No, I'm fine really! I can wait!"

Why is he so apprehensive to receive emergency treatment? She scanned over his clothes again. _Money, maybe...? Maybe I should help him a little... Just to stop the bleeding... It's still part of clinic duty, right?_ She walked over to the small crowd and placed a hand on a few shoulders. "Let me through, I can treat him."

"Oh! Sakura-sama!"

"Hai, Sakura-sama!"

The team of eight stepped backward and she heard their whispers.

A hushed feminine voice. "Hey, she studied under the Lady Hokage, right?"

The voice of a little boy. "Yeah, I bet she's just as amazing."

A fanatic man. "He couldn't be in better hands!"

She crouched before him and beheld the sight. Her heart ached. Because of money he would put himself through this? ...Makes me hate my job all over again. She touched the hand clamping the wound with the tips of her fingers. "Here, let me have a look."

He flinched, curling into himself a little.

She waited for a moment to let him calm down and gave a small smile. "It's ok, it won't hurt I promise."

The eyes looked up at her, they were cast under the shadow of his visor but they were beautiful. Golden irises sparkled under thick lashes, lips thin and relaxed, creases down from his nose that pronounced his age. Or rather, his stress. That expression, why was he familiar? She smiled wider and tugged the hand firmly and slowly off the wound, connected to his gaze. "Just relax. I'm going to stop the bleeding, ok?"

She received a nod and went to work. She tore off a piece of his sleeve and tried to wipe some of the blood away quickly to get a look at the gash. It was pretty deep, but she got what she needed. Concentrating chakra into her left hand, and holding his in the right, she visualized reconnecting the arteries and the veins. Then she shifted the flow slightly and targeted the mitosis of the tougher muscle tissue. This took longer, she took a deep breath and kept a steady flow. The skin was the easiest, but it could multiply too fast and heal wrong. Not enough and you left the layers thin and sensitive, they could tear under stress. Her concentration was broken when the waiting room became a sea of awing, but it wasn't for her.

"Lady Hokage!"

"Hokage-sama!"

"Lady Fifth!"

The receptionists stood quickly and bowed. "Hokage-sama!"

She paused and turned to watch. "...Sensei? In the clinic?"

One of the three receptionists spoke. "Lady Hokage, what brings you here?"

Voices popped out of the background. "So beautiful!"

"Ah, and so humble!"

"She is ever young, our country is in good hands."

The leader's smile was faint. "Checking on my interns."

The girl smiled sheepishly, "Ah, forgive me. They are meeting for orientation right now on the third floor. It is nice to see you make an appearance, Lady Hokage, I'm sure it will be a pleasant surprise and a great motivator for them."

"I'm sure." Two ANBU stood by her, one a dog and one a sort of raccoon. She scanned the entire room quickly. She saw the smiles on the sick patients and the confused look of her student. Waving and keeping a faint smile, she was in a dead course for upstairs.

The room quieted as she left their sights and Sakura turned back to her patient. He was gone. "But... I didn't stop the bleeding."


	8. Becoming Apollo

Chapter 7- Becoming Apollo

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I don't think you need an umbrella but, you know, it's w/e

* * *

"Everything make sense?"

"So with this retrograde amnesia, my mind is stuck in a point of young age?"

"Basically. I suppose you can choose how old you want to be. It will be harder to act out but it might be better if you decided to exist before the massacre."

"Hn." He starred at the floor. "So Naruto, I know him?"

He expected it, but it was bold for him. Maybe he didn't have to worry so much after all. "How do you know he's alive? You can sense him?"

The crackling and intense pressure undermined everything else he sensed. Even his aura demands attention, there was no avoiding him. "Hn."

He chuckled warmly. "Looks like you're going to have to. We're out of time."

Sasuke watched him open the window and put a leg out. He started to panic. "Wait! What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Sasuke. Six seconds." He glued his feet to the brick with chakra, squatted and closed the window. He disappeared in a blur.

"Wait...!" His body sunk. What was about to happen? He needed time to decide, to prepare himself mentally, there was no way that he could pull this off now. The seconds hurt. His heart beat was racing, he felt his breath coming quickly, so quickly that his arms and his face started to tingle._ He said I only got one chance, what the fuck do I do? Get control of yourself! _

He put his face into the pillow and forced himself to suck air through it. Okay. _There was still the option of escape, maybe. Six seconds what? What's coming? _There wasn't much he could do, he was naked beyond a startlingly hideous and backless, string-tied, plaid, one piece gown. The only weapons were a fork, but the sheets and regrettably the food could be used as distractions. If he could just get to the Hokage monument then Madara could phase them out of here, he wouldn't have to face the entire village with his pale ass and all its glory trying to get past the border. If he was caught, he would be shitting on every bit of mercy, pity, and lenience they had for him. He would be ordered to death instantly or sent back to the cave, and he wasn't sure which was better. If he succeeded, he could come back when he was stronger, reformulate his plan and avoid tangling with that idiot at all... But...

Three loud knocks shook the very hinges of the door. "Uchiha Sasuke, this is the Hokage! Open the door!"

_The Hokage?! How did they know already? Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell am I supposed to do now? Fucking Kami! Every agent around the hospital must have been notified by now, maybe even the entire village night watch. Why the hell didn't I get out of here?_

"Uchiha, you are being apprehended for treason and attempted manslaughter! Open the door and come quietly, let's not do this the hard way."

He sighed and closed his eyes. _It's__ too late now_.

"You have ten seconds, Uchiha!"

_So this is it, they're going to pass judgment on me._

"Ten!"

_It might not be so bad. Maybe they'll go for the amnesia shit. Maybe Naruto will take the blame for the chidori that I put through his chest. _

"Nine!"

_Maybe they'll ignore my years with Orochimaru as a rogue ninja. Not likely. Why am I looking for acceptance anyway? I'm here to kill Danzo, that's all... If I even get a chance._

"Eight!"

_Either way, I'm at least going to eat before they kill me. If I'm going to go out like this then I will make sure they have a nice mess to clean up afterward. Damn, whatever made that idiot think that everything would be roses and daisies when he dragged me back here? Faking death and everything..._

"Seven!"

He sunk into himself, life wasn't going to make it easy for him. _I__ like this right here, eating. I can understand this, this primal and innate need._

"Six!"

_It is magnified by taste, our attraction to the salty and sweet foods that fattened our distant ancestors and helped them survive through the winters. This is simple, this is satisfying. The rice is hard though... _

"Five!"

_I wonder how long I was unconscious for? Or how long I was transitioned from that unconsciousness into sleep? How long have I been in this room?_

"Four!"

_Why would they put me in this room if they just plan to take me to jail? They aren't seriously considering treating me through amnesia are they? _

"Three!"

_I'm glad I'm not that dumb. I would never accept such a sorry, blatant excuse. Unless they're deliberately looking for one..._

"Two!"

_Well, Sasuke. How old do you want to be? Seven, still loving the brother this village took away from you? Or twelve, still hating him for slaughtering your clan, throwing everything away in your lust for power?_

"One!"

_Which would be easier?_

"You asked for it!" A vicious kick sent the door flying into the room. She came in angry, two ANBU by her side, the food still on my lap.

He looked at her with wide eyes. _I guess this was it._ "Where's Nii-San...?"

She stopped everything at once and starred at me. Not a word. The way her mouth gaped open, it was absolutely insulting to someone of her position.

"Nii-San is ANBU..." He pointed to one of them and he flinched. _This feels ridiculous_. "Are you Nii-San?"

He pouted, the most he thought his face would let him. _It's appalling to stoop to this, at least I'm not facing Naruto. I don't know if I could do it. _"You're hair isn't like Nii-Sans. Nii-Sans hair is like mine..." He pulled strands of it in front of his eyes.

She finally spoke. "Sasuke..." It sounded hurt, or pitying, I couldn't tell. I didn't care.

When her arm reached out to him, he started caring. He kept reminding myself to act like a child. _What would a child do_? He scooted back and whined in pain. "Owwie... What happened to me?" He slammed his hands on the bed. "I want Nii-San!"

_She keeps staring at me, the ANBU aren't restraining me. They have no idea what to do. Neither did I though. __What now? Get angrier? Do I act scared? Could I cry?_

She drew back her hand and he realized her shoulder was injured. "You hurt too...? My head hurts really bad, and my tummy... This food is cold but you can have some if you want... It helps." He held out the plate. _If she actually takes a bite, I'm not touching the rest. _"Please, you can find Nii-San? Or mommy, mommy is fine... Not daddy. Daddy's not so nice." He touched his toes together. "I like Nii-San best."

She walked right up to him and put her hands on both sides of his face. Her eyes were tearing up. "Sasuke, no..."

_Alright, Hokage my damn ass, who the hell was this girl and what the fuck made her think she could touch me?_ The words were deeper, more spiteful than he intended. "Who are you?"

She looked up and down herself and let go of him to scratch the back of her head. She grinned a wide, shit-eating smile. "Ah... Sorry."

_No... No it can't be..._

He watched her form the hand sign_._

_No, don't do it don't you dare do it I swear to god if it's you I'm going to kill you I'll tie you down and tear all your fingernails off one by one and-_

"Henge!" The two ANBU proofed away and all that was left from her image was those bright blue eyes and goofy grin.

_Fuck this. Fuck being a child. I'm going to rip that imbecile apart_. "You damn idiot! What the fuck were you thinking?!"

Sasuke watched his face debate being offended before it lit up like a Christmas tree. "Teme!" He put his arms out and walked closer. "You remember me!"

"No! Fuck you, you fucked with me on purpose! I could have been gone by now, light-years away from this filthy room! The whole hospital must have heard your dumb shit fest!"

"Nuh-uh! I made a sound barrier!"

"Like the ANBU won't notice the concentration of chakra? You're an idiot!"

"Hey! Do you know how much I went through to get here?"

"Gah!" He clasped his hands to his head and mushed into himself. _Damn idiot! He ruined everything!_

Sighing deeply, Sasuke relaxed._ It doesn't matter, it's over now. Any attempt to escape is still hopeless. It's only a matter of time._ He sat up, and put his food back on his lap. He ate dishearteningly, munching slowly. "My head hurts dobe... Go away..."

"No! I waited two days just to repeatedly time the schedule of the ANBU scouting rounds and get all the information I needed! I had to keep my window open all the time in fucking September just to find an opening! It was pure luck I found out about the interns coming into the hospital!"

Sasuke heard the slow scuffs and stopped in mid-chew to meet his eyes. The blue crystals were so sincere, so full of anger and life, so disgustingly concerned he had to look away. _Why did he care so damn much? Why did he bring himself to near death twice just to bring me home? Just because we were friends? No, I can't believe that. Because I was his first bond? So what, he could make plenty more if he stopped being so loud. _

"-just to find your room! Seriously! Do you know how much old guys piss themselves? And fart? They're like walking trumpets! Useless thing couldn't even dispel himself, that clone had to stab himself three times to finally die and give me the information! Look! Look at this! I had to stab myself to decoy in the waiting room and get the rest of the info I needed and-"

_He holds so much in these useless ties. Outside if his wonderland, friendship doesn't feed you or keep you from freezing, it just expends resources. It doesn't make you more powerful, it only creates a weakness, a liability. It carves into your skull and brands a mindless and jeopardizing loyalty. I felt it more than once, that loyalty, sometimes I swore he was useless without me there. Friendship, it breeds childish farces and empty promises and in the end, it simply isn't necessary. Why couldn't he just give up hope and forget about me like everybody else?_

"-a hair! A hair I tell you! I'm lucky those ANBU didn't come chasing after me after _that_ sorry excuse! I had to disguise myself as my own nurse so I could keep Sakura away from here and still distracted when the real Miniki came down to go get my ramen. And you know what? I'm not gonna get that ramen! The me waiting there is gonna get it and all I'm gonna have is a memory if how good it tasted!"

He sighed._ Whatever this awful feeling is when I see his eyes, it's tugging at my chest. It's tearing at my skin and lacerating my flesh and I have to distance myself before it can go deeper. It's probably just the after effect of what was supposed to happen. I have to make him an object so that I can kill him. _He scoffed and chuckled at himself._ If he was just an object, if he was anybody else, then he wouldn't be worth killing. If I was actually ready for this, I probably wouldn't get the Mangekyo at all._

"-on top of all that, I had to sneak transforming into an ANBU and follow them upstairs! So after everything I did to get here, you're just gonna tell me to go away! Hell no! If you think I'm just gonna walk away now then you have another thing coming!"

_I didn't kill him, so why am I relieved? I truly thought that was the end... _Sasuke looked at the thatch of lemony hair wily strewn now inches from his face. The blonde's hands slammed on the bed, he was seething. Azure eyes searched him, gushing chasms for the asinine purity he retained within himself, the absolute ignorance that allowed him to determinedly face the inevitable day by day. It hurt to watch them try, to see them work so hard for nothing. He sighed audibly again and put his food back on the stool, he was getting nauseous. He starred at his own feet instead. _How am I supposed to slaughter innocence and sunshine? Twice? Especially if I can't admit that this was half the reason I was here to begin with. I wanted to scuffle with this plethora of emotion before he hated me forever. I had thought that battle would get me into the leaf if I let him rough me up enough, I never thought he would have deliberately taken my chidori. So... How do I keep him angry? What is his fit right now? Nonchalance?_ "Yes. I expect you to turn around and go back to your room and accept yourself as a failure. There's nothing you can do to change my mind about what I've done and everything I'm going to do. Get out."

At first, the lights dimmed and Sasuke was ready to correct himself, but then a big grin spread across that goofy face and...

He was tackled. "Gah! Get off me loser!"

"You're in denial. I can see it." He practically sang.

Sasuke pushed him away and winced. "I'm not in denial of anything, you freak!"

The bright smile sat up, straddling him, and put a pointer finger right in front of his face. "You like me."

He smacked the hand away. "Get a grip, dumbass!"

Naruto blatantly snuggled into him. "You know you're really hard to love when you open your mouth. You're so mean."

_Love?_ "The feeling is mutual. Ouch!"

"Yeah, well, if you stop struggling and make with the cuddle it won't suck so bad!"

A blush dusted his cheeks._ How was the dobe so open with this? What in the name of Kami told him this was okay? _"I'm not cuddling you!"

"You know you want to." He sung cheerily.

"Tch! You wish!"

"Yup! Just like you know you wanna kiss me again." He pressed their hips together and touched noses with the teme.

"An idiot like you? Hell no!" He turned a deep red and his breath hitched. He bit his lip to grind some sense into the absurd delirium that was hazing over him. He punched the blonde in the rib as hard as he could. It wasn't much.

His rapist grunted and smiled brightly in return. He closed his eyes and pursed his lips like a fish, making kissing noises teasingly.

The pale boy pushed his palm into the assailant's face. "Ugh! Damn it Naruto!"

"Come on bastard, this stuff is supposed to be give and take, so start taking!"

"What?! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Do it!"

"No!" He screamed into the sunshine's face.

His brow furrowed and his lip pouted. His entire light sunk into the inky depths of oblivion and covered his face in an ugly hurt. "Then why did you kiss me...?

He did everything he could to ignore the eclipse. "_You_ kissed _me_!"

The ugly hurt mixed with dreadful confusion. Wide blue eyes darted all over his face. _Why did he make himself so vulnerable?_ "But you kissed me back."

Something lurched out in his chest again. He shoved it down and slit his eyes. "I felt bad."

Sasuke watched the flame rekindle and he smirked, this was better. He was comfortable with this, he could deal with this.

The blonde slammed his hands on the bed. "You don't kiss someone on the verge of death because you feel bad for them! You do it because you're worried, or because you care! Because you want them to know how you feel about them!"

_How he feels about me? This ache... This was dangerous. I have to kill this man, I have to tear everything that was left between us to shreds. I can't let these words get under my skin. There are much, much bigger things than Naruto and his confusing recent developments. He is just in my way..._ "I don't feel anything."

"You're full of shit!" He roared. "You felt bad, right?" Instantly his wrists were grasped and twisted until his back arched in strain then pinned to the bed on the sides of him. He cried out. His body was immobilized by the idiot on top of him and his legs were useless as long as he was in between them. "Do you feel this?!"

Sasuke stole a dangerous peep at those eyes and he hated himself again. This wasn't how the dobe dealt with things. _Why isn't this elating like always? He should still be screaming at me for being a bastard._ The sunshine was dim and dark red flames licked the tips as lightning flashed across blue skies but... Those pale pink lips were quivering. He was starring intensely and Sasuke tried his damnedest and utilized every ounce of his Uchiha genes not to buckle under it. His breathing was long, ragged, and deep... Naruto was holding back something.

_What is this feeling? This feeling that makes my heart beat, my palms sweat, makes me want to run? What is wrong with him? _It hadn't gone unnoticed, the warmth. He started to thrash, "Just do it! Hit me!"

Gradually Sasuke watched the anger fade. His wrists were released slowly. The waters calmed and the flame was distinguished but the sun never shown bright again. The blonde's arms fell limp and the ball of life bit back something before defeatedly burying the vibrant, wayward curls in his shoulder.

It croaked out of his throat, "Why won't you let me like you?"

_Because I'm going to die now, and if I don't die I have to kill you. I'm going to avenge my clan and destroy everything you love. Everything you do is petty. You are petty._ "Stop."

He starred at the ceiling, it registered. The shaking of the tan fists at his sides. The long, warm breaths that seeped through the thin gown. The chill of every inch of skin the blonde didn't overtake.

Spite and hurt laced his words, he spoke them into raven's hospital gown. "You want to avoid execution, right? For whatever crap you're here for?"

_You're an urastonachi, after all this time you still don't know better. I will rip that heart right off your sleeve._ "Yes."

"Well just remember that I'm not going to give up, and I'm definitely not going to let you leave again. So you'll be stuck with me for a while." He searched the raven's face again and traced a finger down his pale cheek again. The bronze man was sad... "I'll get it out of you..."

A scoff. Whatever happened before was a fluke, a spur of the moment, and it was suppressed into the confines if his mind and shoved away just as that._ This is not okay. If I had more strength, I would have put this idiot in his place already. _

Sasuke watched the dawn peep out over the dark and obscuring snow caps, and it started to smile. It wasn't a normal smile though, it had that mischievous glint it bore when the idiot was about to do something stupid. "Besides, you owe me."

"For what? Mmph!" Warm lips crashed into his own. He was frozen, paralyzed, eyes popping out of his skull.

The fox growled against his lips, a tan chest vibrating against a pale, lithe frame. "For nearly killing me, and almost dying afterwards."

They came again, and the body above him breathed in deeply, pressing them together further. The raven didn't have a clue what to do but stare horrifically at the blur connected to his face. His lips were tingling with the force, this act was so intimate, none of his training had ever prepared him for something as intrinsically feral as this. He had seen people kiss, but with no reference it ignited nothing inside him. And he had kissed before, kissed Naruto before, but this was different, different than when they almost died. Being here, like this, with him, but even more so, beneath him, it was sickening. He felt vulnerable, weak, useless, forced, violated, exhilarated, adrenalized, overwhelmed.

They broke for a second with loud gasps, but before the blonde could be screamed at, he continued his onslaught. He flicked his tongue along the pale man's bottom lip. Nothing but a pressed hard line. Annoyed, he spoke against the raven's lips again. "Let me in."

He didn't have to be coherent to recognize a sign of submission, an utter insult to his pride. A nauseous raven flung his head from side to side. "Mnnh- no!"

Naruto broke away again. "Fine!" He grabbed a fistful of midnight hair, ripped it back, exposed a milky pillar and latched on.

He grit his teeth and hissed when the scab above his right ear felt like it was torn from his skull, keening when the hard suction started on his neck. This was a completely different experience. It was still so intimate, so foreign, so weird, so uncomfortable, so out of his jurisdiction. The pull back and release of the suction made his body tense and relax, tense and relax. It was hard and prominent, it didn't let him focus on anything else. He felt the other hand on his wrist relinquish but all he managed was another gasp as the pads of calloused fingers drew under his gown and airily up and down his side. The hot mouth popped off and latched on to the other side of his neck, some place lower and more sensitive. He could feel the hot puffs of air against his neck, hear the blasts of hungry breath. The combination of this fierceness and the light touch sent impulses to a place that made his esophagus shorten in realization. He felt some alien urge to press against that body, it was obviously coming from some telepathic transmitter originating from an unearthly race that was experimenting with populating the earth with just men. The rough fingers went lower to shyly trace the very sensitive indents of his hips. His body bucked a little in response, blood and heat pooled there quickly, instantly, uncontrollably. The fingers fiddled, tracing the edge of his epidermal hem, pinching the curly black hairs. God did he want... Something? Anything. Friction. More.

_No. Bad. No. _The suction stopped and Sasuke let out a long, relieved breath he wasn't aware he had held in. A hand wound out of his ebony hair and drew along his cheek softly.

Blue crystals shimmered in the midst of his half-lidded eyes and he wanted to eat them alive. The blonde spoke deeply, softly, "You're blushing... You liked it?"

_ I was starring at such an idiot face, it sucker punched me right in the jaw and made me realize exactly what was going to happen but... I have seen those eyes and dreamt of them but never had I seen them with such a look. It was a new intensity I didn't quite understand. There was the blatant lust or mindless adoration I used to get from some of the girls, and though it was similar, they were on a different league entirely. These eyes, they were hungry but they were scared, and they were caring and they were so expressive with these feelings, I can't look away. I feel forced to marvel at the blue shards in his irises. They would never belong on any other face, and this face, I haven't seen it such a while I forgot it was capable of portrayal to such a degree. They were looking at me constantly for some sign that this was okay. It wasn't. Not in a million years and under any circumstance but... In the face of these... Why can't I make words?_

"Then I won't stop..."

* * *

An hour later after the initial time of the request, Miniki strolled back in through the hospital. She walked past many friendly greetings until she found a very angry pink-haired nurse blocking her path.

"Where the hell have you been, wonderland? You said you would only be a few minutes!"

"Um... Heeey uh..." She tilted awkwardly to look at her name tag. "Sakura-chan. The line was kind of long."

"I've been covering your work, remember?"

"What? I'm not scheduled for duty for another ten minutes."

* * *

Author Note: Dun dun dun! Finally, the after make-out reunion! So I tried to make things less intense and throw in some Sasuke POV. Wow at this point you would think Tsunade is the main character. No! Don't think that! She just plays a very big role in determining his fate and I felt like letting you in on it. You're welcome. Thoughts? If I don't get thoughts I'm not gonna post the next chapter I already have ready... Just sayin...


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